Montclair Restaurant Bucks Trend With Smaller Portions, Lower Prices

MONTCLAIR, NJ — If there’s one thing that Montclair restaurateur Ilson Goncalves isn’t afraid of, it’s taking a well-calculated risk. His most recent gambit? Lowering prices for his customers – by offering smaller portions.

Goncalves, the chef and owner of Samba Montclair, has become well-known in the local culinary scene for cooking up some seriously tasty Brazilian fare from his restaurant at 7 Park Street. Since launching in 2010, Goncalves – who has been diagnosed with celiac disease – has made his restaurant 100 percent gluten-free. He’s also gained some buzz with his pledge to offer a “fully authentic farm-to-table experience,” featuring locally sourced organic meats and produce – often from the lauded Brazilian markets in Newark’s Ironbound District.

But high quality doesn’t come cheap, Goncalves notes. Hence his latest business move.

“Given the high cost of food for everyone, we’re lowering lunch prices to make dining at Samba more affordable,” he recently announced.

“Honestly I haven't seen price reductions like this in our area,” Goncalves told Patch, adding that he got the idea from a restaurant he visited in Miami.

Goncalves elaborated on the reasoning behind the decision in an email to Patch.

“I’ve always been super-generous with portions, and have seen this in other restaurants too, but I'm sure there's a lot of waste there, as we were finding. For example, all our lunch entrees came with rice and beans, but if people didn't eat them, we'd end up throwing them out. Now at lunch we offer a choice of two sides, so people can order what they like among rice, beans, French fries, yuca fries, fried sweet plantains or seasonal vegetables. People like having options.”

Will diners notice the “gentle” portion resizing? “On some dishes, yes,” Goncalves acknowledged prior to launching the updated menu. But he added an important caveat.

“They've always been large – so I think of it as 'right-sizing,’” he explained.

Patch caught up with Goncalves this week to see how his customers have been taking the change. According to the restaurateur, the reaction has been “quite positive.”

“Some customers told me that they felt lunch was a little pricey, so they were pleasantly surprised when we lowered the prices and changed up the menu,” Goncalves reported.

“It'll take time to see if there's a change in profit, but I'm seeing more volume, which is great,” he added. “Regular diners are coming back more frequently now for lunch.”

For now, Goncalves continues to see the new portion sizes as a test.

“We may try something similar on a weekday to give it a boost and offer something special to diners,” he said.

SAMBA MONTCLAIR OWNER: ‘REINVENTING MYSELF’

In 2020, the Montclair resident made a bold decision amid the coronavirus pandemic, expanding business next door and nearly tripling the restaurant’s exterior capacity.

“I believe in moving forward, and always reinventing myself,” Goncalves said at the time, noting that he had to sell his house to survive the downturn in business. See Related: Montclair Restaurant Owner Takes Gutsy Leap, Expands Amid COVID

It was a bold move for an unprecedented time. But unfortunately, fate had another nasty surprise in store for Goncalves and his beloved restaurant: Hurricane Ida.

Samba Montclair was one of many North Jersey businesses to take a heavy hit from the recent storm and flooding. The entire basement – including all food storage, supplies and air conditioning system – was destroyed, along with the restaurant’s outdoor dining area and plantings. Meanwhile, the newly renovated main dining rooms also took damage.

The recovery effort was aided by a GoFundMe campaign that saw a groundswell of support from the community – for which Goncalves was grateful. See Related: First COVID, Now Ida: Montclair Restaurant Owner Not Giving Up

Gonçalves is a graduate of Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City, and author of “The Samba Montclair Gluten-Free Cookbook.” He lives in Montclair with his husband and two French bulldogs.

• See Related: Three Takes on Yucca at Samba in Montclair
• See Related: Samba Montclair Warms Your Heart: Review

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